The Great Ninja Yuffie
by secantsquared
Summary: This story explains the events of Yuffie's time in her return to Wutai following the Geostigma crisis. (Between Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus)
1. Prologue

**The Great Ninja Yuffie** \- Prologue: Sickness in the Shera

Yuffie was never good with moving vehicles. This could explain why she was slouched over against a wall, facing the ground while her knees bent over and trembled in discomfort. Rather than being her normal self, laughing and running her mouth, she chose to sit in the corner ignoring conversations and trying her best not to throw up.

The night before Yuffie partied in 7th Heaven, celebrating the end of Geostigma while also relishing her final time with Tifa's family. Thanks to her motion sickness, she was suffering her final moments with Cid and Barret. They were two friends she fought together with for The Planet not long ago.

"Hey, Yuffie." Yuffie looked up and noticed Cid. "We're here."

"..."

"Geez kid, you okay? Get up, get out. We're right above the village, so no chocobo."

"...Uh."

"The parachute."

"..." Cid stepped aside, giving Yuffie some space to move and trudge to the bathroom. After spitting the last bit of mucus down the drain, she headed straight for the opposite corner where those parachutes were.

"Yo Yuffie, we're gonna miss ya," Barret called out, walking over to Cid.

"Sure you know your way home?"

"Eheheh, yeah... of course. Who do you ugh.. URRRRRGH!" Yuffie lurched forward against the wall, her mouth forced to open.

"NO! #$%!" Cid cried.

Immediately, Yuffie ran to the closest garbage bin as her stomach and throat began to wrench. Kneeling down, she huffed out three blasts of air before disgorging and watching her last meal of cup noodles fall into the bin.

"AURRRRRRRGGHHHHH!"

"Holy #$%," Barret looked at Yuffie, then at Cid. "You okay?"

Surprisingly, this was the first time Yuffie threw up since joining the AVALANCHE crew. Teary-eyed and embarrassed, she returned to the bathroom to give herself a little rinse. When she came out, she made straight for the two men and apologized.

"Sorry you had to see that."

It was clear that Cid was not pleased. After a short pause of silence, he called out, "You gonna do something about that? Take the garbage with you."

Barret laughed. "It's gonna stink up this place."

"Y-yeah, sure," Yuffie answered, maintaining the sour look on her face. She prepared her medium-sized backpack, shuriken and parachute while Barret and Cid whispered a conversation. After making sure that nothing was left behind, she announced her farewell.

"Well it was nice knowing you two."

"No problemo. The- aww... no..." Cid jumped as Yuffie embraced him lightly.

Then she hugged Barret. "Take care, Yuffie."

The men followed Yuffie to the outdoor deck of the Shera. The backpack and parachute were wrapped behind her, and the garbage bag and shuriken were firmly grasped in each hand.

"Th-thank you. Bye!" she smiled before jumping over the rails and to the village below.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Great Ninja Yuffie** \- Chapter 1: Boiling the Kettle for Tea

* * *

At first glance, Yuffie didn't recognize these private apartments. But after scanning the area and locating the Da-chao mountains, she knew exactly which direction she should head for home. It took no more than an hour for her to once again meet the familiar paths of Wutai Village.

Yuffie thought about the kind of responses she will receive from the people of Wutai. She remembered two years ago when they blamed her for spreading the Midgar disease. Now that everyone was cured, she was certain to be welcomed peacefully this time.

It was late afternoon. Yuffie's father was in the kitchen, boiling a kettle for tea.

"Dad, I'm home." Godo turned around when he heard his daughter's voice.

"Y-yuffie!? You're back."

"How is everyone?"

"Good, good... the disease is gone. Everyone cured."

"Once again, I took part in saving the world!"

Godo nodded, and laying a heavy hand on her shoulder, he thanked her. "Thank you, Yuffie. I am glad to see you're back safe."

"Was I on TV?" Yuffie asked curiously, but her father just smiled.

Yuffie and Godo talked a bit more about the war. Godo told her that he did not see much action on TV, just chaos and injured people in Midgar. Yuffie, despite being extremely tired, wasn't planning to sleep yet; she wanted to see everyone in Wutai welcoming her back first.

After a long hot shower, she entered her father's room where he was filling some papers out. Glaring at the papers, she squinted her eyes and asked, "Where is everyone?"

"Mmm," Godo sipped from his cup. "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"They'd expect me back by now. Will there be a welcoming party?"

"No." With that response, Yuffie raised her brow and gave him a dubious stare. Then Godo continued, "Yuffie, haven't you realized that the people are apathetic about your return? They won't feel your presence, unfortunately."

Yuffie put both hands on her waist, displeased with his answer. "Dad, everyone knows what I've been through! The patients-"

"You've been out of Wutai too often for too long. It's great that you're back, but no one cares or should care, really. "

"That's not true..."

"Mmm," Godo muttered, taking another sip of tea. "This tea. Try some."

Yuffie backed away at his offer. "Umm... no thanks."

"There's hot water in the kettle."

After putting some thought, Yuffie realized that Godo was right. Being his daughter, she had always been praised and respected; however, she never returned the favor. It surprised her that she couldn't even name many people from her hometown. Even though she admitted to being selfish, she knew that wasn't the reason that no one cared for her.

During the Geostigma crisis, Yuffie spent a year taking care of the infected people at a small hut outside of the village. She offered them hope and taught them martial arts, and made plenty of friends in the process. Now with everyone cured, she had no idea where they had run off to.

Yuffie was now in bed, imagining herself being surrounded and honored by a crowd of people. Cuddling inside some blankets, she glued her eyes on her mobile phone, scanning through her contacts list out of sheer boredom.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she remembered him: Yuri.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Great Ninja Yuffie** \- Chapter 2: WRO?

* * *

How couldn't Yuffie forget Yuri? He was the one who helped her when everyone turned against her for bringing the stigma. Together, they traveled the caves to find a cure, but only for him to catch the stigma later that day. His mother eventually died from the same disease, so he lived on his own - about a 20-minute walk from Yuffie's home.

Although they had parted ways in their teen years, Yuri remembered well that he and Yuffie were once close childhood friends. Yuffie had no clue what he had been up to, but she was certain that he was no longer suffering. She wanted to see him happy again, happy for the possibly the first time for as long as she could remember.

Yuri was the average, 18-year old teenager with a 'beautiful nose', and black hair tied back in a ponytail. When the door opened, Yuffie stood still in front of him, grinning as they once again met eye-to-eye.

"Yu.. Yuffie?! Welcome back." Yuri's eyes widened as his head bounced back in surprise, but his voice sounded dull and monotone. "What's up?"

Yuffie put her hand on her waist and scowled. "Come on! You should be more excited than that! Did you miss me?"

"Yes... I mi-..!" Yuri cried as Yuffie tackled his torso - an aggressive way to hug someone.

Once she released him, she looked up and examined his face. No black pus, no open sores... and YES! He's smiling! "You... seem... healthy! How are you feeling?"

"Good, thank you. Come in?"

When Yuri turned around, his ponytail swung and grazed Yuffie's face. Yuffie followed him inside, only to notice that he was already pouring some water for her in the kitchen. The main living room consisted of two sofa couches perpendicular to each other, and a coffee table in the middle.

"Interesting..." She thought, making herself at home as she dove onto the sofa. She looked around some more and caught a neat display of trophies on a shelf. "Trophies... what for?" she pointed, thinking she should have known this before.

"All school stuff," Yuri called out as he approached Yuffie with a pitcher and two glasses of water. After placing them on the coffee table, he jumped on the other sofa couch. Yuffie then hopped over to where he was, switching sofas.

"Welcome back," Yuri smiled.

"I came back just two hours ago," Yuffie answered, placing her hand on his wrist. "I was about to take a nap.. then I remembered you."

Yuri nodded at her response. "Did you see your dad?"

"Yeah. He was happy to see me... happier than you were, surprisingly."

"Hey, I'm glad that you're back. Midgar was brutal, wasn't it."

"Almost as bad as Meteorfall." Yuffie stared down at her lap, frowning. She waited for Yuri's response, but a gaping pause of silence ensued instead. She took a deep breath and continued, "First off, the Bahamut, which I helped kill off, left thousands of people injured on the streets. Then a dude transformed into Sephiroth, only to have his ass kicked by Cloud. Again. After that, the Lifestream emerged from the surface and everyone was cured."

"Holy..." Yuri stared in space, wondering what to say next. He asked, "...Bahamut?"

"Summon."

With that quick one-word answer, Yuri fired another question. "How did Sephiroth come back?"

"I'm not the person to ask," Yuffie admitted. Go ask someone like Vincent, she thought, smiling to herself.

"Well, it's good that you weren't hurt."

"Eheheh, yeah," Yuffie giggled. She leaned her head against the back cushion, and another lull silence occurred. Trying to keep awake, she continued, "So, what have you been up to?"

"Not much," Yuri sighed, comparing his dull life to Yuffie's.

"Boring..."

"Hey, I've been studying. You know, I have to. My future-" Yuri paused when he saw Yuffie give him a sour look. "Why the face?"

Yuffie raised her brow and continued to stare at Yuri, but stops when a yawn interrupts her.

"Oookay then... tell me your plans. In Wutai."

"Um..." Yuffie turned away from him and paused for a bit, before admitting, "I don't plan to stay here any longer."

"Wh, what?" Yuri snickered at her response. "Again?"

"Uh... yeah."

"But why..."

Yuffie leaned over to his ear and whispered, "Don't tell anyone... but I'm joining the World Regenesis Organization."

Yuri opened his mouth, surprised. Then he shrugged his shoulders, wondering why she acted so secretively. "Uh... that's great. Okay?"

"Ye... yeah," she continued to whisper strangely. "Don't tell anyone! Please."

"Okay, weird." Yuri shook his head and chuckled softly. Yuffie punched his arm, causing him to flinch and laugh more.

That was one awkward moment. Yuffie pinched herself for not being able to speak more. She felt embarrassed to tell him her WRO plans, but she didn't know why it was such a big deal. She knew that her father would be upset if it was him who found out.

Tired, Yuffie broke the silence with a heavy yawn, and her body started to lean backwards.

"..."

Yuffie hugged herself and her legs kicked Yuri as they spread across the sofa. "So you're gonna sleep now?" Yuri murmured as he jumped off, making sure she didn't hear him.

Yuffie had gone sleepless for now over 24 hours, as there was a major time difference between Wutai and Midgar. With her motion sickness, it was tough for her to catch any sleep inside the airship.

"Ooh boy..." Yuri sighed, staring down at her. Scratching his chin, he studied Yuffie's body and noticed that she was wearing only short shorts, and a crop top which revealed a bit of skin. He was amazed by the nice curves she possessed, and also noted her slim arms and long legs. Once she fell asleep, Yuri grabbed a fresh pillow and pair of blankets, and covered his friend's body.

"Sweet dreams..."

* * *

**A/N**: Yuri is a character from FF7's On the Way to a Smile: Case of Yuffie.


	4. Chapter 3

**The Great Ninja Yuffie** \- Chapter 3: Yuri's Famous Pancakes

* * *

Yuffie had absolutely no idea where she was when she woke up. The blankets covering her felt very thick and warm, and there were windows in the room she had slept in. It took little time for her to notice that she was back in Wutai, but in someone else's home!

Through her phone she was surprised to see that it was 1:51 AM. There was a lamp on the table; when the light came on, Yuffie was even more shocked to see other things beside it: some snacks, a new toothbrush and toothpaste, and a note written in blue ink.

_10:34 pm_

_Yuffie._

_You have been sleeping since 5 pm. It is 10:30 now and I'm going to bed. If you are reading this, feel free to stay here till tomorrow morning. Here are some snacks in case you get hungry and a toothbrush... There is dinner in the fridge and an extra bedroom._

_Goodnight!_

_Yuri_

"That's so sweet..." Yuffie giggled, feeling an invisible tear slide down her cheek. Although she was slightly hungry, she wasn't in the mood of eating someone else's food.

Yuffie spent the next hour daydreaming about her future. What will she do in her time in Wutai, and how long does she plan to stay for? Perhaps she could get a part-time job or continue her search for materia. The biggest thought she had in mind was how her life would change once she joins the WRO.

With the new toothbrush, she went to the washroom where she could hear the light snoring that came from Yuri's room. After a quick brush, she decided it was best to catch some more shut-eye.

* * *

"Good morning, Yuffie..."

"...Uh," Yuffie awoke to the smell of fresh pancakes. Noticing she had drooled all over the sofa's cushion top, she quickly grabbed the pillow to hide it. When she shifted her head to the side, she saw Yuri sitting on the other couch. She groaned more when she felt some strange, warm load on her tummy.

"Uh... huh?!" Something did feel strange... there was a cat sleeping on her! Noticing that, she squealed and jumped in surprise before falling off the sofa. Disturbed by the noise, the grey tabby cat hopped off and scampered out of sight.

"Hahahaha!" Yuri laughed as Yuffie wriggled around the carpet. "That's my cat," he introduced. "She likes to sleep on people."

"..."

"Get up, Yuffie! Breakfast." Yuri smiled, patting on Yuffie's hair before making his way to the kitchen.

"Breakfast..." Yuffie mumbled to herself as she trudged to the bathroom.

After giving herself a quick wash, she took a seat on the rectangular kitchen table. There were six seats, one on each end with plates of food, but she chose one of the empty seats.

"Pancakes," Yuri said, shoving the plate of pancakes to her. He poured a glass of orange juice for her and sat down for his breakfast.

"Sorry you didn't sleep so well," he apologized, seeing Yuffie was slouched over, her hands covering her eyes. "15 hours is quite a lot."

"No..." she finally spoke. "I slept really well. Thank you. Thank you for what you did last night."

"You're welcome," Yuri talked with his mouth half-full. His eyes lit up with wonder when he saw Yuffie take her first bite of the pancakes. "How is it?"

After gulping down the forkful, she said, "Really good." Before taking a second bite, she was interrupted by a meow. "Hey."

"Cat! She wants food," Yuri stood up, pointing to his cat as he walked to the kitchen. When he returned, he grinned mischievously and started laughing. "She scared you, huh?"

"No, I just got really surprised." Yuffie lied. She had always loved cats, but it was obvious that she got scared. "Never knew you owned one. What's her name? Or his-"

"Cat," Yuri quickly answered. "It's a her."

Yuffie shook her head, confused by his response. "...What?"

"Her name is Cat," he repeated. " I picked her up two weeks ago."

"...Her name's Cat?" Yuffie said quietly to herself before bursting into giggles. "HAHAHA! Hey, that's a creative name for a 'cat'!... HAHAHA!"

"It's an uncommon name! And a good one," Yuri chuckled along but was overwhelmed by Yuffie's laugh attack. "Gawd, stop the giggling," he pleaded jokingly as he abandoned his seat.

"My cheeks hurt..."

Returning with another plate of pancakes, he asked, "I have some left over. Would you like more?"

"I'm good." Yuffie answered as she finished the first of three pancakes on her plate."Yuri... these really taste amazing."

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it."

Suddenly, the ringtone 'Descendant of Shinobi' started to play. The sound came from the sofa, so it forced Yuffie to vacate her seat and answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Yuffie, it's me." It was a woman's voice she didn't recognize.

"...Who?"

"Chekhov. Welcome back to Wutai - No! Why are you running away again? Wherever you are... Godo would like to chat with you tonight."

"Umm... okay?"

"We'll be in the Pagoda at 7. See you then."

The call immediately ended before Yuffie could speak again. Well damn it, she thought. "The Wutai Gods want me tonight," she told Yuri, who was in the kitchen washing dishes. "You have any plans today?"

"Nope, I have the day off. How about you?"

"Well... I have about nine hours of free time... oh!" Yuffie's eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement, and with enthusiasm, she asked him, "Wanna climb the mountain?"

Yuri turned the water tap off and smiled,"Just like the good ol' days, hm?"

"Eh, I don't remember."

Yuffie quickly brushed her teeth after finishing the best plate of pancakes she ever had. She then barged into Yuri's bedroom where she saw him lying in bed, staring at a computer screen.

"Weather forecast says it might rain..." he told her.

"Hah! That's nothing," Yuffie barked as she jumped onto the bed. Then she bragged, "I've climbed Gaea's Cliff without a problem."

"Oh, so if it rains, you'll be there to protect me, is that what you're saying?"

"No, I'm saying if it rains, you just gotta man up."

"I'm not weak!" Yuri shot back, eyes squinting. He couldn't think of anything else to say next but, "...You're the weak one."

"Ha!" Yuffie faked a laugh, then scoffed, "You're just a skinny dude."

"And you're what, three feet? I can squish you."

"Says the guy who got Geostigma. You're not much taller than me either."

Yuri thought for a moment of another insult to say. He settled with a harmless question instead, "Didn't Cloud have Geostigma?"

"Yeah..." Yuffie turned her head away from him for a split-second, before exclaiming, "Let's go already! We don't have much time." She pulled on Yuri's arm, making him roll around the bed as he lost his balance.

"Already!?"

"First, we gotta drop by at my house. Don't forget your weapons."

After wasting about 20 more precious minutes getting prepared, Yuffie and Yuri stood well at the front, putting on their shoes. For weapons, Yuri had only his fists and a medium-sized shuriken, and no materia. The Da-chao mountains were home to many species of monsters, though they never possessed any real threat. Let's go!


	5. Chapter 4

**The Great Ninja Yuffie** \- Chapter 4: The Da Chao Mountains

* * *

It was a dark and chilly morning in Wutai Village. There were winds whistling, raindrops drizzling, and the sky could not be seen with so many grey clouds covering it.

"You wait out here," Yuffie said to Yuri as she went inside to retrieve her stuff. Inside, she predicted correctly that her father was absent. She knew that he was often a busy man, but she also believed that he wondered where she was last night.

Yuri waited at the front steps of Yuffie's home, thinking how he had come well-prepared, as he wore two inner layers and a rain jacket. He even brought a bag of accessories with him in case of an emergency. When Yuffie came out, he was surprised to see her in her usual outfit: a pair of silver short-shorts and a blue strapless top which revealed her midriff.

He immediately questioned her choice of attire. "Don't you get cold?"

"Please," she shot back with a question of her own, "Didn't I tell you?"

"Tell what? Oh... you've climbed Gaea's Cliff," Yuri pondered for a moment, thinking how that was even remotely possible. Then he added, "That's not very smart of you."

Hearing his response, Yuffie stepped back and faked a punch, succeeding in making him flinch. "Two for flinching!" she yelled, punching him hard in the arm twice.

"N-not fair!" Yuri groaned as he skipped away from their radius.

"Why are you running away?" Yuffie shouted, slowly chasing him. "You scared?"

"No!" Yuri spat out, "I thought we were going to the mountains."

Yuffie and Yuri spent fifteen minutes walking to the famous Da Chao Statue. From there, they could see dozens of open caves along the mountain trails. When they finally arrived, a pair of small, spiky, plant-like monsters appeared in front of them.

"Razor Weeds!" Yuri pointed out.

"I'll take care of this," Yuffie stepped in, giving the monsters a chance to flee. However, the Razor Weeds responded aggressively and charged her, forcing her to throw the shuriken. As expected, the shuriken pierced through the Razor Weeds perfectly before returning to its user's hand. After moaning in agony for a few seconds, they collapsed on the ground and died.

"Nice shot," Yuri applauded, unsurprised by her skill.

"I know. This was how I fought to save the world. Next one we see, it's yours."

As they walked past Da Chao Statue, Yuffie paused momentarily as she had a flashback of when she was kidnapped and tied up to that exact sculpture. She remembered being on the verge of death, before being saved by her friends who she betrayed prior to the event. Since then, she had never stolen anything again.

Yuffie's flashback was suddenly interrupted by the piercing sound of a familiar weapon. Yuri had killed a Bizarre Bug with one shot of the shuriken. "Wow, I'm so in shock. Not bad," she teased, shaking her head as she regained consciousness.

"Pay attention," Yuri warned. But before he could hear Yuffie's response, heavier raindrops started splashing down and a massive lightning bolt appeared in the sky. Alerted by two thunder zaps, Yuffie gasped in shock before dashing off, leaving Yuri behind for a split-second.

"Hey!" Yuri screamed, having no choice but to follow her.

Hearing his call, Yuffie turned around and bellowed, "Run! To the cave!"

The weather became nastier every second as Yuffie sprinted and sprinted trying to find undercover shelter. But to her dismay, she and Yuri had climbed to an area where there were no caves around. As Yuri ran close behind her, he wasn't surprised to see that she was already twice as soaked as he was. His stamina had quickly started to deteriorate, but when he heard his friend sneeze, he rushed ahead and tossed her his spare raincoat. "Here, Yuffie!"

Yuffie caught the jacket and wrapped it around her neck, overtaking Yuri as she continued to sprint. It frustrated her that she couldn't spot a single cave, and more monsters had started chasing them the more they ran. After fleeing from countless battle encounters and about three miles of sprinting, Yuffie and Yuri ended up in shelter under a small, dark grotto. They collapsed on the ground at the same time, rolling around and panting wildly.

"That was... a lot of running..." Yuri huffed.

Yuffie was a silent panter, and when she quickly regained her stamina, she kneeled over to Yuri and threw him the raincoat. She was so drenched that her nipples could be seen through her top. "Well... I don't know how long we'll be in here."

"..." Yuri continued to throb on the ground when suddenly, another bang of thunder erupted, scaring him. The sudden noise from outside made Yuffie jump up and bark.

"So, uh, how far did we climb up?" asked Yuffie, who was now walking in circles.

"Dunno."

"Aaaaahhhhhhh..."

"I... told you it'll rain..."

Unhappy with his two responses, she yelled, "Get up, Yuri! We're gonna explore this cave."

The soaked ninja wasted no time and walked ahead, forcing her friend to tag along. "Hey..." he murmured, expecting her not to hear him. "It's dark... you can't see anything... Yuffie!," he shouted. "There's no light."

Swinging her arms around, Yuffie ignored his concern and said enthusiastically, "Then there must be treasure!"

"You're on your own then," Yuri stated but continued following her, and step by step he walked slower and slower.

"Fine by me. If I find the treasure, I won't be sharing any with you." Yuffie turned around and noticed the large gap between her and Yuri. "Come on, Yuri!"

There was a fork ahead and Yuffie took little time to decide which to take. She peaked both directions before turning left, but realizing the pitch-blackness that was ahead, she stopped and turned around. The other direction had absolutely no light either.

"This cave sucks," she concluded with a nervous laughter. "Let's head back."

Yuri let out sighs of relief as he made his way back to the cave exit. Although there was more light there, the sound of heavy raindrops from outside still made him feel anxious. He couldn't remember the last time it had rained this much, and he would have never guessed to be in this kind of situation twenty-four hours earlier. The predicament was being trapped inside a small cave with a friend who happened to be Yuffie Kisaragi, the hyperactive ninja and daughter of Wutai's Godo.

Yuri stood still by the cave exit, staring at the rainstorm outside. Yuffie pulled on his arm from behind, and in a calm and adorable voice, she asked him, "Wanna rest for a bit?"

"Sure"


End file.
